Of Cats and Men
by Kit'ari
Summary: Having avoided the Neko-ken for years, Ranma now finds his past catching up to him. Can Akane and Nabiki learn the truth before it's too late?
1. Of Cats and Men

Of Cats and Men 

By Kit 

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_      "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" slurred a tall skinny boy as he slipped out from the shadows ahead of a little girl, who couldn't have been older than 10, on her way home from school.      "Come this way often, sweetie?" sneered another, larger boy, as he stepped out behind her.      "W- What do you want?" the little girl answered, trying not to sound as scared as she felt. They had waited until she rounded the corner that met into this back alley. The storage boxes and garbage cans dispersed throughout the alley cut off any hope of someone seeing her. She stiffened her stance as she prepared to sprint past the fat one, and back the way she came. Four others stepped into view, devastating her hope of getting past either one of them.      "Well, me and the boys here, ya see," Koji, one of the local high school bullies, began, "saw that you were walking down this alley with no one ta escort ya." She took an unconscious step backward. "So, we thought we'd help." She couldn't help but shiver at his predatorial grin.      "T-th-that's okay. I can make it by myself."      "Oh, I don't think you understand," Koji smirked. "I know for a fact, there is no way you could make it through here without our help."      She jumped when she felt the wall on her back. They moved up to form a semi-circle around her so that she would have no where to run.  
     "Look at her. She wants this so bad, she's trembling." The other five chuckled in response. It sounded so hollow she could feel it grating against every nerve in her body. Her eyes flickering, pleading with them to let her go. She opened her mouth, desperate to scream for help, but only a panicked dried whisper escaped.      Koji growled as he leaped forward, slapping a beefy hand around tightly over her mouth. "I wouldn't scream if I…" He was cut off by someone screaming to his left.      Out of no where a foot slammed into the shoulder of one of the boys. A gray blur bounced away. It balled up while landing on two bare palms against the rough alley floor. Before the shape could be made out, it was again in motion. Unfolding itself straight back into the same boy. He bounced off the opposite wall, shook his head, then launched himself at his attacker. A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him further forward while his arm twisted painfully. A second hand descended with a crack. He passed out from the pain.      Standing above the broken unconscious boy the oni appeared to take the guise of a ten-year-old boy. He was dressed in a dirty thread-bare gi and heavily worn slippers. He looked up from his first victim revealing eyes so filled with darkness that they almost seemed to shine with black flame.      A moment passed before anyone reacted.      Koji squeezed the girl's jaw tightly as he grabbed her shoulder with his free hand. Twisting her around to his front, he yelled to the others "Get that little animal and teach him what it means to deal with the Alley Dogs."      "Let her go," the oni-boy demanded. One of the boys pulled a knife from his pocket, two others grabbed two handy pipes.      "Or what?" one of the Alley Dogs sneered as he unwrapped a length of chain. "You'll go easy on us?"      "You really shouldn't have done that." The tall skinny one growled while taking a few practice swings with his pipe.      "Maybe he wanted her for himself?" The fat one chuckled.      "Too bad, after what he did to Ken, there won't be enough of him left to let watch," the one with the chain answered.      "Too bad for you, kid," the fat one chided.      For the young girl, time stopped and allowed a soft wind blew through alley. A small chill went up her back. To her, the young boy's small pigtail seemed to wave in challenge.      "It's a martial artists duty to protect the weak," the words of his father came automatically to him. The young boy smirked as he made his plan. "And I'd ne'er dream of goin' easy on ya," he said with finality.      "Ha!" the first cried out. His chain swung out in a beautiful arch. The oni-boy vanished just before the chain could reach him.      The fat boy looked up. Two feet planted themselves heavily in his face. Leaning forward into a fall, the young martial artists kicked back against his head. The fat landing pad flew back against the opposite wall, blood shot out as the crack sounded up the alley. Combined with his momentum, a hard punch, straight into the other pipe wielder's gut folded him in half.      The blade cut through the air where the mysterious boy had just landed. Springing up at his elbow, the boy grabbed his wrist, immobilizing that arm, and pulled him down in an impromptu throw. The larger boy didn't have the momentum he needed, so he twisted and dropped into a roll with him. Mr. Knife screamed as his arm cracked under the force.      The boy returned to his feet, hands held out in a flourish with his head held high. Mr. Knife lay unconscious with his knife sticking out of his belly. He'd live.      Dropping to the ground, the chain arched over the oni-boy's head and wrapped itself around the skinny pipe wielder's neck. Unfolding his legs again in a powerful leap, the oni-boy launched several punches into the idiot with the chain. Stepping back, he leaped into a spinning kick to his temples and down Mr. Chain went down.      Back to skinny-pipe. The boy jumped up, flipping almost horizontal. A quick knee to the head, he rolled cat-like in mid-air and wrapped his legs around his head. Gravity then acted to pull them both against the ground. Mr. Skinny-pipe then mercifully found unconsciousness.      The oni-boy stood up. He gaze locked on the remaining two witnesses. Both of his hands clenched and unclenched twice. He took a step forward, planting his right foot into the hand of his last victim. Hearing no response, he took another step forward. His right hand rose to wipe at the corner of his mouth. It left a bloody smear that appeared more like some dark demonic markings than a spot of blood.      Koji may have been the biggest in his gang, but he wasn't the dumbest. He shoved the young girl forward and took off toward the opposite end of the alley. He had chosen the spot because it lessened the chance of someone getting away. Now he was the one running.      The boy saw Koji flinch just as he pushed the girl forward. He also saw the paralyzing fear in the girls eyes. He crossed that distance faster than his father had ever made him to move. Springing into the air, he caught her by her shoulders. Sailing over her, he used his momentum to pull her up right while spinning them both around. He landed just a few steps to the other side of her. Quickly spinning toward the last man he tensed to run after him. A soft voice called out to him.      "Stop! Please let him go." The boy stumbled to a stop before turning to face the girl with a puzzled look on his face.      "They wanted to hurt you," the boy said.      The girl shivered from the sight in front of her. She wasn't sure why she called out to him. He was clearly kami possessed and her mind was still shouting to run away fast as fast as she could. That he had just saved her couldn't quite calm the fear he had just inspired. More than anything the others had did or said, she knew she wouldn't live two seconds past whenever he wanted.      "Please, don't you think you hurt them enough?" She asked in a very uncertain voice. 'He might have killed five people just now, and you want to provoke him?!' the more rational part of her mind screamed.      "But, they were gonna hurt you," he answered as if that could justify any action. She wondered if, to him, that it would.      "Um, you're a lot better fighter than they were. Couldn't you have just… run them off or something?" She felt a little more confident, he hadn't attacked her yet. Some part of her wondered if he might be some kind of personal guardian kami, like in the stories her father read to her when she was younger. Only he didn't just chase the monsters away.      "Once ya commit, ya gotta go all the way. All or nothin'," the young boy replied in an almost lecturing tone. "If I'd let up, they'd just be back here tomorrow."      "Look at them!" Her voice quavering. The emotional toll almost breaking her down into tears.      "They deserved what I had to give'em."      "No body deserves that."      He shifted his weight back and forth, his lips silently moving as he tried to think of a response. "Look," he said finally while taking a step forward. Wide-eyed, she took an involuntary step back. He stopped, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I thought you needed help," he said after a moment.      She looked down. Everything was still too unreal. 'A nightmare, this had to be a nightmare, and any moment now, I'm going to wake up.' After a few seconds of not waking up, she looked up at the boy. He looked to be about her age. The expression of his face was closer to that of a lost puppy than the monster she had just seen.      "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." He began, with the phrase his dad had drilled into him every since he could talk. "It's a martial artists duty to protect the weak," he said bowing to her. Then, looking her straight in the eye with the most vibrant blue eyes she had ever seen, he finished, "and I promise I ain't going to hurt ya."      She blinked. Whatever she might have expected next, that had not been it. After a moment of hesitation she smiled, "Pleased to meet you, my name is---" 
_

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     "Hiromi-chan!" Ranma breathlessly mouthed. He jumped up from his seat and sent his disk crashing into Hiroshi's. Everyone in the class stopped to look at him. He was looking toward Akane.      She blinked as she stared back at him. Thoughts of embarrassment vanished as she caught the wild look in his eyes.      "While I am glad you have deemed to wake up for my class," the teacher barked. "I will not tolerate any disruptions Saotome-kun. Sit down now, or go out to the hall!" He couldn't understand why the other teachers couldn't maintain order in this class. Of course he had only just taken over for Suzuki-sensei, who had taken an indefinite leave, just a few days prior.      "All right, young man," Hanaka-sensei, their teacher began, after it became apparent he was being ignored.      "No!" Ranma shouted suddenly, cutting off the teacher. With a single step he dove over Akane's desk, right through the closed window.      Everyone in the class was suddenly up and over to the windows before Hanaka could even think. Never had he had a student try to kill himself before. After the initial shock wore off, somewhat, he morbidly moved to join the students looking out the window.      Below, on the school grounds, Ranma looked around confused. He had just watched as a ten-year-old girl fell backwards out the window. He had jumped to try to save her, but now she was no where to be found. He might have considered it all a dream, if it hadn't been for the pain he felt when he broke the glass. He wiped the blood from the numerous small cuts along his brow.      'How could she have fallen through a closed window,' he thought. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog away. 'What would she be doing in a high school class room anyway,' Ranma found himself trying to reason. "Was I dreaming?"      "I have had enough, Saotome-kun," Hanaka yelled through the broken window. "Consider yourself on detention. And I think a parent-teacher conference would be in order too."      Ranma looked up at his classroom. Students were now looking out of most of the windows on this side. Dream or not, he didn't think he would quickly forget the look of terror on her face. It was like something out of a nightmare. His expression tightened as he thought of the girl's expression. 'She was kinda cute, for her age,' Ranma shook his head, 'What am I thinking.' He took a deep breath then a thought came to him, "She was afraid of me."      "Did you hear me, Saotome-kun?" The angry voice of his teacher settled down upon Ranma snapping him back to his surrounding.      Ranma looked around, this was not the time nor place for this. He turned and started running for the fence. With a single bound he was up and over the wall and gone.      "Okay class," Hanaka turned to face the rest of his class. "I want you to start reading pages 134 – 167 and do the questions at the end of the chapter." Hanaka turned and left the classroom, not even waiting for the students to get back to their seats. 'I need a smoke break,' Hanaka thought as he walked down the hall. He had quit just 2 years earlier. 

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     'Why do I have ta go to school,' young Ranma reasoned with himself. 'It's not like they ever teach anythin' fun or useful. Nothin' like what dad teaches.' Wearing the school uniform from his last school made him stand out from the others making their way into the schoolyard. His father had told him that it was normal and accepted for a transfer student to wear the uniform of his last school for the first few days, so that other students could see where he was from. A theory that didn't match the reality of how most of the other kids treated him whenever he transferred in. Ranma thought it was just an excuse until the old man could find a proper uniform for him.      "Ranma?" a voice ahead of him called out.      Ranma looked up, he eyes searching for the source of the voice. Someone who knew him already? Finally, as he forced his way forward, he saw her. "Hiromi? What are you doing here?"      "Duh, I go to school here. Are you transferring here?" she asked.      "Uh," Ranma responded intelligently. "Ya, I guess, for now at least." Ranma stood there like a deer caught in headlights. Normally it took him days before he could find any good friends, now here was someone talking to him on the first day.      "So, you going to tell me your homeroom, or are you going to keep it a secret."      "Uh –oh, its uh, its," Ranma reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Um, 3-E" he finally answered looking up to see her eyes light up and a huge smile on her face. He wanted to remember this moment forever.      "I know where that is!" She giggled out. "Follow me." She turned and forged a path through the other students toward their classroom. 

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     Kasumi positively glowed as she leaned back, allowing the warm waters of the furo to work their magic. Taking a deep relaxing breath, she wondered at how much she had really needed this. While she usually didn't allow herself such luxuries as a mid-afternoon soak, she had found herself thinking about this all day.      Most of the wash was hanging, or could wait till later. Both Father and Mr. Saotome were fed. The cleaning was done. And her favorite TV soaps had become so boring, for some reason, lately. Luck, this day, seemed to smile upon her.      She looked over at her free sample of bathing oil. That nice young man had insisted she at least take home a sample. She had tried to politely turn down his sales pitch, but had been so passionate about it. So when he offered her a free sample, how could she turn that down?      She had forgotten to try it last night. And when she came in to clean the furo, after everyone had gone off to school, she noticed someone had already added it to the warm water. While the bottle was larger than she would have thought for a free sample, she definitely didn't want to miss out because she waited too long.      She let out a deep soul-cleansing sigh. Maybe she would go borrow another book from Dr. Tofu when she was done. "Ahh," she sighed. "All is right with the world." 

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     "Thanks for walking me home," Hiromi said.      "No problem." Ranma replied, beaming with joy. "I guess those bullies learned their lesson, huh?" She looked at him and frowned. Suddenly he felt like he had just been caught doing something wrong by his dad.      "Maybe, then again, they might have learned if you had gone easier on them too." Now it was Ranma's turn to frown.      "People like that don't learn. You have to show them…." He stopped when she turned her back to him.      "Anyone can change, if given the chance. And everyone deserves the chance. If any of them had died, you would have taken any hope they had of changing."      He looked down at the ground while absently rubbing a recent bruise hidden under his long sleeves. Somehow this seemed worse than any lecture his dad had given him. He still wasn't sure why he enjoyed being around her, especially when she smiled. And he hated it when she seemed upset. He became determined to make her happy while he was here. "I'll think about what ya said. See ya tomorrow," he said as the turned to head back to the vacant house his father had found.      "Wait," she called. Suddenly not really wanting to see him go yet.      "What?" he said while turning around.      Whatever gave her the strength to call out left her. "I- uh, do you have, I mean, would you like to see my cat?"      "Sure! I love cats." Ranma beamed. 'Pop should be out until late tonight.'      "Great, we have two cats. The big one name is…."      She led him into the apartment building, telling him all about their cats. 

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     "Hey, wait up." Nabiki shouted to her young sister as they left the school at the end of the day. Akane turned and looked very annoyed, but she waited. Nabiki smirked. That meant she wasn't really angry or she would have just kept on, oblivious to her calls. 'You are so easy to read, Akane.'      "What do you want?" snapped Akane.      "Just to have a nice walk home with my sister, like we use to do," Nabiki chimed.      "We never walk home together and I'm not in the mood." Akane replied, not really turning down Nabiki's offer.      "Want to talk about it?" Nabiki probed. She had heard several versions already. Everything from Ranma attacking Akane and she throwing him out the window to Ranma tying to kill himself. In short, nothing believable. The only thing she was sure of was that Ranma had jumped through a window then ran off.      "No," she said after a few seconds.      Nabiki hid her smirk; 'about two more blocks should do it.'      "Why, Nabiki?" Akane stopped two blocks later and turned to face her sister. "Why would he just take off like that."      Nabiki blinked. "We could ask him when we get back."      Akane humpf'd. "Probably went to go see that violent Chinese bimbo of his." Akane's expression darkened considerably.      'Akane calling someone else violent,' Nabiki quipped to herself. "If that's true, you could maybe get father to forget about the engagement." Nabiki watched Akane's expression soften as she cast her eyes down at the ground.      "You think so?" She said meekly.      "He wasn't very happy when she first showed up, as I remember." Akane only nodded slightly. 'Time to up the ante,' Nabiki thought. "I am sure I could get a picture or two that would that would make daddy's blood boil."      "So, you think he likes her more?" Akane said in a slightly higher pitch than normal.      "Who cares. With the way she acts, I could probably get a whole roll of shots in no time. If I presented them to him just right, he would kick the both of them out without hesitation," Nabiki turned away slightly, to pretending to be look away.      "Y- you don't have to do that," Akane said very softly while staring intensely at the ground.      "Oh," Nabiki said turning back around smiling. "I thought you said you didn't want to be engaged to him."      "Why would I want to be engaged to a stupid perverted jerk like him!" Akane snapped, unable to stop the burning feeling in her face as Nabiki cornered her. After a moments pause, she continued. "It's just… you don't… wouldn't that destroy their family name?"      "It's just an offer." Nabiki had a few thoughts herself on the Saotomes' good family name. "Just let me know if you change your mind." Nabiki turned and continued on as if nothing had happened, a little to Akane's relief. This conversation had been very illuminating, even if she didn't learn what she really wanted to know. 'Ranma, you had better be worth my little sister's attention.' 

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AN: Greetings...  
     This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.   
     It should go without saying, that I own none of the characters in this story with the possible exception of Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no intention of earning money from this story. This is only my way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and wounderful charcters.   
     Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.   
  
     This story is revealed in both the present time and in flash backs for the reader. Italics are used to set off the flash backs from present day actions. I hope this helps in the reading as some have complained about that. Also the ending has been altered. I hope everyone likes this one better. :)  
     Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  



	2. Of Cats and Men (Part 2)

Of Cats and Men (Part 2) 

By Kit 

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_      Yuota waited as Hiromi saw Ranma to the exit of the building. Once she came back in and closed the door he called over to her.  
     "What," she asked with all the annoyance that a 10 year-old girl can deliver to her older brother.  
     "I don't like you playing with that boy," he said matter-of-factly.  
     "I don't care what you think, oniichan," she replied and started to head off to her room.  
     "Well, Mom and dad don't know it yet, but I heard he put 5 boys in the hospital last week."  
     "I know," she replied over her back.  
     "You know!" He said jumping up and following her down to her room. "What do you mean you know?"  
     "I was on my way home, and they tried to attack me. He saved me," she said with quite a bit of enthusiasm.  
     Yuota blinked. He wasn't sure what to think of that. "Well, I see. Still you don't need to be around that kind of person," he tried lamely.  
     "And what kind of person is that, huh? One who would do anything for me?" she replied thinking of that fight, and the dozen romance mangas laying about her room  
     "I heard both he and his father are drifters," he said indignantly. "You can't trust those kind of people. They think they can do anything they want without care for other people." He walked around the room, his arms waving back and forth. "I have heard that people have started losing stuff every since they came to town."  
     "He's not like that!" She defended.  
     "Of course, you don't think he's like that. Your just a little girl, what do you know of the world."  
     "You're only one year older than me, and I know you don't know that much more than I do."  
     "Listen to you. A few days with him and your back talking your older brother."  
     "Like I never put you in your place before!"  
     "Just wait till mom gets back from shopping!"  
     "You wouldn't dare!"  
     "Just watch me!"  
     "You do that, and I'll tell her about your picture taking."  
     Yuota's eyes got real big, "You wouldn't!"  
     "As long as you don't," Hiromi finished with a smirk and crossed her arms.  

_

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     "What do you think your doing!" Akane huffed, after having climbed onto the roof.  
     "Uh," Ranma jumped a little in surprise, realizing just how little attention he had been paying to his surroundings.  
     "Well!"  
     "Thinking. What's it to ya?"  
     "And you have to do this over MY room?"  
     Ranma looked around and from the position of the tree found she was right. "I just needed to be alone, and this was a comfortable spot."  
     "Okay," she began. She looked around, as she wasn't quite ready to let him off the hook yet. She fidgeted with the question she wanted to ask, but wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.  
     "So, is this where you ran away from school to?" She asked instead.  
     "I didn't run away!" was his knee-jerk response. Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "I went to a couple o' places, but there just seemed to be too many people, so I came here 'nstead." He didn't know why he tried to hold back on his usual responses. After all, he had already tried being nice when he first got here, but everyone made it obvious they didn't want him here. Just for some reason, he didn't feel like being alone right now.  
     "Who is Hiromi?" Akane finally brought herself to ask; her voice was almost a whisper.  
     "I don-" he began, his face contorted in that silly expression she had seen when he was trying to remember Ryouga's name. She had to fight not to laugh.  
     'She's that girl I saw.' Ranma thought. "I don't know."  
     "Then why did you shout her name before you jumped through the window?" Akane growled, growing angry again.  
     "I shouted her name?" He didn't even remember saying it.  
     "So you do know her!" Akane countered.  
     "No." Ranma shifted his position back to looking off the roof into the distance. Akane anger continued to grow as he just sat there, obviously lying to her. "At least I don't think so," Ranma said at last, narrowly avoiding being kicked off the roof.  
     "What do you mean you don't think so?" Akane asked, barely holding in her anger in check.  
     "I thought I saw a girl fall out the window."  
     "There was no one at the window, you must have been dreaming," Akane pronounced, case solved. He is an idiot and possible insane as well as a pervert.  
     "Usually, my nightmares don't get me to jump out of windows."  
     Akane blinked. Something in what he just said didn't quite sound right. "How often do you dream of girls throwing themselves out of windows?"  
     "This is the first, I think," he smirked. "Usually I don't remember too much, just the…" he trailed off. He almost admitted to being afraid of a stupid dream. It was bad enough they now knew of his fear of cats.  
     "H- how often do you have nightmares?" she asked, unsure what she thought he was going to say.  
     "Oh, about the same as everyone else I suppose. Only a couple of times a week."  
     Akane turned away from him, trying not to cry. Ranma caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. 'Great, now she thinks I can't handle stupid dreams.' "Well, guess I should wash up before dinner." He stood up, and jumped back down the ground. Akane turned back to stop him, but couldn't find the words.  


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     "Hey you," a boy called out across the yard to where Ranma and Hiromi where having lunch. Ranma looked up at the boy making his way toward them and smirked.  
     "Your that kid that put my brother in the hospital, aren't cha." The boy stated. Several other boys started to form a circle surrounding them.  
     "Maybe, what of it." Ranma said simply.  
     "You must be dumb or something." He smirked. "First you come here, and attack my family. And now you're trying to take my girl away from me."  
     "They tried to attack me. And I'm not your girl, Giru!" Hiromi replied.  
     "They attacked you?" One of the boys in the back asked, he hadn't heard that part of the story.  
     "All six of them tried to, anyway." Ranma said as he shifted positions slightly. He was still sitting, but now could easily jump or strike out. He cursed himself mentally for letting himself relax into the less defensible position. A mistake he would not be telling his father about.  
     "He beat-up all six of Koji's gang?" Another boy said softly.  
     "Not all of them, Koji didn't have a mark on him."  
     "That's because he ran away." Ranma added nonchalantly.  
     "He made Koji run away," yet another boy paraphrased. The more the other boys heard, the more it was clear Giru had not told them the whole story. It was also becoming very clear that they might not want to mess with this boy.  
     "You got lucky, that's all. Your nothing," Giru shouted, realizing that he was losing most of his crowd. When it became apparent that he might lose them all if he didn't do something, he decided to do just that.  
     Giru launched his fist forward, the blade of his knife pooping out of its sheath so fast, almost nobody noticed it. And just as suddenly, Ranma was not where he was suppose to be. Looking up, he was rewarded with two feet planted in his face, and he went down fast. Ranma jumped off him, before he hit the ground, landing just to Giru's right.  
     "Your gonna pay for that one." As Giru got back up and glared at Ranma, Ranma saw the stern look on Hiromi's face, that some how seemed to shout at Ranma that she was not happy.  
     Giru revealed a second knife in his other hand and he launched into a combination of punches and jabs. Ranma started dodging and weaving throughout. Giru had some training in marital arts and had been, until now, the toughest boy at school. It was clear to about everyone except for Giru, that he was very outclassed.  
     Quickly teachers came and broke up the fight. Sending Giru to the principal's office. All of the teachers who had come over, where very please with how Ranma had handled it, having only seen him dodging and refusing to even once hit his opponent, so they didn't bother sending him to see the principal.  
     Ranma was happy because that meant his father wouldn't be called in. The other kids were happy to see Giru get trashed, even if he hadn't been hit after the first initial kick. Happiest of all was Hiromi; 'Everyone deserves a chance!'  


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     "By soft what light through yonder gate would grace such a fair and noble warrior. Tis the morning, and my chance to renew her hope of being freed from the bonds of that miscreant Saotome would place upon you."  
     "Doesn't he ever learn?" Ranma asided to Akane.  
     "And fear not pig-tailed girl, where ever his dark arts may have hidden thee. I shall endeavor to free you both, so that you may enjoy the attentions I may visit upon you."  
     A shiver ran up Ranma's spine as Kuno's words reminded him of certain dreams that he had awoken from in a cold sweat. An angry battle aura flared around Ranma, to those who could sense them. "She is never going to like you Kuno!" Ranma shouted as he started toward Kuno to teach him a lesson or two.  
     Akane, however, got to Kuno first, with her fist readied to knock him into next week. She had plenty of reason to be upset with Kuno for just being here. When she noticed Ranma's reaction to Kuno's speech, of which the implications disturbed her greatly anyway, she felt she had to react.  
     "So, the beautiful tigress wouldst spar again with me." Kuno pinned. "If you should win, I will allow you to date with me!" Kunou called, as he attempted to block Akane's strikes.  
     "Hey, he was mine!" Ranma shouted at Akane, extremely upset to have a girl fighting for him. Then he saw it. Kunou was bringing his boken down with all his strength, and his target, standing with her back to him completely unaware, was a little girl with short dark hair dressed in a light brown school uniform looking scared.  
     In a flash, Ranma jumped over Akane taking the boken hit square on his back. Following through he tackled Kunou to the ground. Both, rolling over, sprang back to their feet.  
     "So Saotome, you would fight with me at last." Kunou called. The fog that veiled Kuno's mind and protected him from all the evils of a world filled with his insane family lifted slightly. He had hit Saotome fair. And knew that whatever dark magics he used to protect him were not working now. He was the best fighter of the most powerful marital art. Victory was his today.  
     Ranma huffed, as he tried to get his bearings back. Fortunately, Ranma's tackle knocked his arm such that the effectiveness of his attack, already weaker since he was striking at Akane, was substantially less than his full strength, which could break concrete with air pressure alone.  
     Ranma looked over to where the little girl was standing by Akane. Both were looking at him very angry for his attack on Kunou. He Turned back to look Kunou straight in the eye. "If you ever try to hurt her again," Ranma said softly, yet with as much hatred and venom as he could, "I will kill you." Ranma's battle-aura flashed as he said the last. Then, leaving the entire student body behind stunned, he walked into the school.  
     "Wow, did you see that, Ranma stopped Kunou without even hitting him!"   
     "Oh, that's so romantic, how he took that hit for his fiancée!"   
     "Did you hear what he said to Kunou?!" Everyone began gossiping about what they thought they had just witnessed thus a large number of students found themselves late for their first class.  
     The fog that protected Kunou's mind from the evils of the world slowly descended back to its proper place. Kuno was now convinced more than ever that he had always been right about Saotome. Only a demon's eyes could flash the way his did. And the way he took that hit, even knowing his protection was not strong enough to stop his righteous blade, proved that the best way to defeat the black curse's hold on both his tigress and his pig-tailed goddess was to beat them. Oh, how he hated and loathed the idea, but he would not - no, he could not betray them. He would do what his duty, his honor demanded, and free them both personally.  


====================

__

     "Oh, hello Saotome-san. Won't you have a seat?" The schoolteacher began.  
     "What has my boy done this time?" Saotome grumbled. Too many times he had had this talk. If only he could get them to understand that this was part of his son's training, but they never understood.  
     "He is a wonderful boy, Saotome-san. You should be proud of him." Genma blinked, then decided he would take up that offer to sit down. "He has been doing much better than his previous records would indicate." Genma only nodded, that would allow him to keep him out longer next time they had to move.  
     "And he shows a very active imagination, as you can see from one of his writing assignments here," she continued. Genma only nodding. He wasn't really listening, as this was not the way most of these parent-teacher conferences usually ran.  
     "As you can see, your son has been a delight to have in my class. And after the other day, I think all of the teachers wish they had…"  
     "The other day?" Genma interrupted. "Why, what happened?"  
     Oh, he didn't tell you?" She smiled good-naturedly. "Well, boys will be boys, I guess." She then proceeded to tell him about the one-way fight as she and the other teachers had witnessed it.  


====================

     "I'm home," Nabiki called out automatically. Something was going on, but she didn't know what yet.  
     On her way up the stairs to her room, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
     'Okay. First, Ranma.' She thought. He was acting weird. Then again, they had only been here a few weeks; this might not be all that strange of a behavior from him. After all, considering what she did know of his upbringing, Nabiki unconsciously shivered, who knows what else may be running around in that head of his.  
     Absently she wondered what it would take to get Ranma to see a shrink. Not that thought that much more of their opinion, but if Ranma was dangerous. She let that thought trail off as she remembered Ranma curling up in Akane's lap. She was the only one he would let get near him. At some deep level, he trusted her. 'Of course with that idiot of a father, ' Nabiki smirked.  
     Akane needed to quit hitting Ranma. 'If he stopped trusting her,' Nabiki thought as she opened her door. She hadn't had time this morning for her normal soak in the furo, and she had blamed most of her day on that.   
     As she stepped out into the hallway, Genma also stepped out into the hallway. He turned at her and smiled as he started down stairs in only a towel, carrying his bathing supplies. She glared at his back. 'Hadn't he heard of ladies first?'  
     "Want me to drag him outside and beat him up for you?" Akane asked from behind, only slightly startling her. They both laughed.  
     "Hey, is that a new perfume you're wearing?" Nabiki asked.  
     "Nope." Ranma called from behind Nabiki. "That's a bath oil." Akane and Nabiki both looked at him with shock. Ranma made a show of smelling the air and continued. "A special strawberry-apple mix with yewkuptus and," pausing to think, "geranium." He smiled.  
     "When did you become an expert on bath oils?" Akane inquired.  
     "Just one of those things you pick up on the road," Ranma replied with a shrug. "Suppose to help you relax, and good for the skin," he recited in a soft almost sweet tone. As he slipped into his room he added, "Oh, and good for school I think. Something about helping thinking or memory or somethin'."  
     "Well, Ranma is just full of surprises this week," Nabiki quipped as she returned to her room. Her soak would have to wait for later.  
     Plopping down on her bed, she though about the stranger that she had seen talking to Kunou. She was too far away to hear what they were talking about. She wasn't even sure why it stuck out in her head as strange, but she always listened to her gut instinct.  


====================

__

     Pin-pon, pin-pon.  
     "Hello?"  
     "Uhm, is Hiromi-chan there?" A tentative Ranma squeaked through the building intercom.  
     "Silly, its me!" Hiromi giggled back.  
     "Great! Would you like to go cat huntin' with me?"  
     "Cat hunting? What do you want with cats?" Hiromi asked playfully.  
     "The old man wants me to try to get as many of the strays around as I can."  
     "Uh huh?"  
     "Well, he said something 'bout get'n some cat treats, like fish-sausages and catnip. I guess he's wanting ta get'em a good home or somethin'."  
     "Cool!" Hiromi replied cutely. "Count me in!" She released the button and went to grab her coat.  
     "You're going out with that homeless boy?" Yuota said as she opened the door.  
     "I am going out to save the kittens!" She replied theatrically then shut the door behind her as she left.  


====================

     Akane awoke to her alarm going off. But she didn't move to shut it off. Something was in bed next to her, and it wasn't p-chan. Slowly she looked over and saw Ranma's face nuzzled up against hers.  
     Ranma slowly opened his eyes, acutely aware that there was not an alarm clock in his room.  
     "YOU PERVERT!" Akane screamed as she grabbed the closest thing and silenced her clock against Ranma's head forever.  
     Ranma quickly jumped out of the bed after that.  
     "GET OUT! YOU PERVERT!" Akane continued as she looked for something larger to grab.  
     "It's not what it looks like!" Ranma attempted.  
     "Then what is it! Huh?!" Akane dared.  
     Ranma's mind quickly searched for something that might work, since he didn't have a clue why he was in her bed. 'Ah ha!' he thought. "It's not like I'd want to sleep with you or nothin'!"  
     Two seconds later, Ranma found himself hurtling out the window only to make a very familiar landing. "Water. Why's it always got to be water."  
     "Was that Ranma's voice I heard from your room Akane?" Nabiki asked from the doorway.  
     "I don't want to talk about it! Doesn't anybody knock around her!" Akane said as they both looked down at the remains of her door. The bottom had been completely shredded into confetti, leaving the top held on by one hinge to swing open freely. They both looked up at each other.  
     Akane walked out past Nabiki and up to the guestroom where Ranma and his father where staying. Akane walked up and put her hand out to open the door, then she hesitated.  
     Nabiki, following her train of thoughts, and privacy not being her biggest concern reached out to grab the door.  
     As the door crumbled to the floor, they both gasped at what they saw. The room was a total wreck. Hugh scratches marked the walls. Torn clothes where everywhere. Nabiki was the first one to recognize Genma's unconscious form tossed upside down in one corner. He looked severely beaten, but still breathing.  
     "Well, I guess there will be plenty for breakfast." Nabiki said. She quickly spun away and started down the stairs. "If you want to lay him down properly, I'll give Dr. Tofu a call." Nabiki called back to Akane, not bothering to turn around. She knew she would lose it if she did.  


====================

  
AN: Greetings...  
     This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.   
     It should go without saying, that I own none of the characters in this story with the possible exception of Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no intention of earning money from this story. This is only my way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and wounderful charcters.   
     Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.   
  
     This story is revealed in both the present time and in flash backs for the reader. Italics are used to set off the flash backs from present day actions. I hope this helps in the reading as some have complained about that. Also the ending has been altered. I hope everyone likes this one better. :)  
     Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  



	3. Of Cats and Men (Part 3)

Of Cats and Men (Part 3) 

By Kit 

====================

_      Ranma puzzled as he waited by the school gate to protect Hiromi on her way home. Every since lunch, she had either been avoiding him or out right glaring at him.  
     "Hiromi-chan!" Ranma called out as he saw her approaching. She immediately bore into him with that same glare.  
     She didn't say a word when she got to the gate. She just kept walking. Ranma followed her, not knowing what to do.  
     "Giru had to go to the hospital last night," she finally said about 2 blocks later.  
     "So?" Ranma answered back.  
     "The police wanted to talk to you, but the teachers all defended you, describing how you didn't even try to hurt him."  
     "Ah, they didn't have to do that." Ranma remarked.  
     "You did it, didn't you?"  
     "He tried to attack me last night." She stopped and turned to look at him for the first time since they left the school grounds.  
     "He has both his arms broken, both of his legs broken, one of them in two places, a cracked rib and a broken nose," she almost sobbed.  
     "He didn't learn, so I had ta teach 'em!" Ranma said, getting defensive. "Besides you weren't there!"  
     "Oh, so you think I only care about what you do in front of me!" Tears freely flowing down her face now.  
     "Look," Ranma started.  
     "No, you look! I don't want to walk home with you any more. You don't care about anyone but yourself! I can't and I won't be friends with someone like that!" She turned and stormed off toward her home.  
     Ranma just stood there, not knowing what to do.  

_

====================

     "Tis a sweet moment that hath finally come this very day." Kuno started as he stepped out from around his favorite tree. "For this day, I shall end your enslavement of Akane and the pig-tailed girl, finally freeing them from your ill begotten ways," Kuno boasted.  
     Ranma only shook his head as he cracked his knuckles in preparation of delivering a much-needed pounding to a pompous jerk.  
     "Be forewarned, Dark Sorcerer, I have come to learn the secret that binds your magic."  
     "That'll be the day!" Ranma called out as he got into a battle stance.  
     "Do not worry Akane nor the fair pig-tailed girl, I shall free you both into my embraces once I have defeated Saotome!" Kunou called to the skies, in hopes that the pig-tailed girl could hear, and have hope.  
     The pig-tailed girl, currently in her male form decided she had had enough, and the fight began.  
     Ranma burst forth, before Kunou could finish bringing his boken to the first position. Walking his strikes up Kunou's chest, Ranma made sure that he used only enough force for him to feel each blow. A swift kick to Kunou's hip and Ranma danced back out of range. Frustration from the events from this morning and the day before combined with his anger at Kunou both for this daily idiocy and for his dishonorable actions that caused his secret of the Neko-ken to be revealed burst forth.   
     Kunou slashed forth at his nemesis. He growled once as he attempted to push for advantage. Ranma dodged and waited until Kunou fell into his usual comfortable pattern, then leaped back into range. At Kunou's first words, Ranma had decided that his usual way of handling Kunou had been his mistake all along. They had always left Kunou unconscious. That allowed him to interpret how things had gone for himself.  
     Ranma kept his eyes locked on Kunou's. He had fought the idiot too many times not to know what his next move would be. With a speed just short of the Amaguriken, hard hand chops rained down Kunou's left and right arms. This time, Kunou would have to beg for unconsciousness.  
     Weaving in and out of Kunou's range, Ranma continued his assault on Kunou. He made sure that he used only enough force and stuck in places that would leave him standing. Kunou's hands where already beginning to swell from constant strikes rained upon them. Even if this didn't teach him the lesson, Ranma would make sure he wouldn't be able to try anything for a few weeks.  
     Ranma's eyes lit with the dark fire not seen in them in years.  


     "Something's wrong," Nabiki heard Akane pronounce. The fights between the two had long since become to boring to watch. After all, it was a forgone conclusion how they would end. She turned her attention back to the fight. Ranma was giving Kunou a beating. More than a beating really. From the size of the bruises that had started to appear and the pain clearly lit in Kunou's eyes, it was clear that Kunou had somehow pushed the wrong button this time. He wouldn't be bouncing back from this one; he'd be lucky to be back up this month.  
     Quickly she glanced around, looking for a way to try to stop this fight. Akane gasped then froze in place. Surprised by the quick change in her sister, Nabiki again looked to see what had changed. It was hard to see it at first. No one else on the field had seen it yet, either. Nabiki blinked. She blinked again. It was subtle, but she now saw the shift in the fight.  
     "What does he think he's doing," muttered Nabiki.  
     Akane had no answer as she looked worriedly on. The one-sided fight continued.  


     At fist he had held back. He had wanted this victory at his own hand. However, that was not to be. The demonic magics that protected his foe were as strong as ever. Remembering what his would be ally had told him one night previous, Kunou began the incantation. He was warned that the results would be unpredictable, but he didn't care. The promise of revealing Saotome's true nature was too tempting to pass up. He would show them all that he had been right all along. How could they not see it?  
     It was difficult at first. To even say the word. Not because of the word itself, but because of the overwhelming pain his body was informing him of. But Kunou was stronger than normal men. He had long before become accustomed to pain. It began as no more than a whisper. Slowly his chant grew in volume.  
     Suddenly, the foul sorcerer slipped. Oh, he tried to hide it, but Tatewaki Kunou was the rising star of Furinkan. His chanting grew stronger. He fully understood it now. It was a calling, a calling for heavenly aid. Today the vengeance of heaven would be swift and sure. "Hiromi – Hiromi – Hiromi."  


     From a distance, a figure watched as the fight progressed. Yuota wasn't sure why he asked that Kunou person to try shouting her name during their next fight. At the beginning, he had felt somewhat disappointed as it looked like what he had expected. Now he began to doubt his course of action, as he wasn't quite sure what to make of what he was seeing.  


     Ranma Saotome was losing. Losing bad enough that everyone could recognize it. Every time Ranma attempted a punch or kick, he would see that face that had plagued him for the past few days, and he couldn't follow through. Every time he pulled his punch, Kunou rewarded him with a blow.  
     Once again, Ranma jumped back out of range. He fought the dizziness that threatened to take his consciousness. Ranma took stalk of the battlefield. For the first time, he noticed the looks of the students watching the fight. He remembered the day all of the male students had acknowledged defeat to Ranma, as he alone had defeated Kuno. 'If Kuno wins now…' He glanced over at his worried iinazuke.  
     "Alright!" Ranma shouted. "Playtimes over!" Ranma jumped up and over Kunou's reach. Kunou looked up trying to follow his arch. Two feet planted themselves on his forehead. Gravity combined with leg strength to shove Kunou to the ground.  
     "You dare mock the mighty house of…" was as far as Kuno got before he blacked out, once again.  
     "Just what kind of game did you think you were playing with him!" Akane shouted storming over to Ranma. "He could have hurt you!"  
     "Like Kuno could ever touch me!" Ranma claimed nonchalantly.  
     "Oh, yea?" Akane poked him in the chest. Ranma collapsed to the ground.  
     "Like you care!" Ranma cried back from the ground, unable to stand on his own.  
     "Why would I care about a pervert like you!" she responded.  
     "Pervert! Who are you calling a pervert, you dumb, uncute, tom-boy!"  
     "I'm calling you a pervert, you dumb pervert!"  


     Yuota watched the spectacle before him with a frown. 'I have to, or she will be next.' He thought darkly to himself.  


====================

_      "Hey, you! Homeless Boy!" Yuota called out to Ranma, who was practicing hitting a post with his bare fists. His sister had come home crying the day before, but she hadn't let him go out to confront him. This had been his first chance.  
     "The name's Ranma!" He challenged. Looking the boy up and down, he knew he wasn't a match.  
     "You have been bothering Hiromi. I want you to leave her alone!"  
     "What's it…" he started to retort, hoping to enrage him, but then he recognized him, Hiromi's brother. 'I bet she wouldn't be too happy if I beat him up.'  
     "I know your kind, and your all no good!"  
     "You should go!"  
     "Or what?" Yuota taunted back.  
     "I am not going to fight you!" Ranma said defiantly.  
     "Then maybe I'll just beat you to a blood pulp!"  
     "What would your sister think of you then?" Ranma called back. Yuota looked like he was getting very angry when Ranma heard the door to the house squeak open.  
     "Want to know what she really thinks of you?"  
     "What should I care what some dumb know-it-all-chan girl that thinks she can tell me what to do!" Ranma called out.  
     "Fine, then we don't have a problem do we!" Yuota shouted, getting really nervous seeing Ranma big father staring at him in a disapproving manner.  
     "Fine!" Ranma returned.  
     As Yuota turned to leave, Ranma turned to go back inside with his father. Yuota noticed for the first time a large bruise partially covered by his gi and several small scratches on his arms and legs. All of which would normally be covered by his school uniform.  
     "Just what do you think you're doing!" he heard Genma shout, just before the door shut.  

_

====================

     Akane and Nabiki left the school building slowly. Ranma had left early again, but after word made it around as to just how badly hurt Kunou was, no one seemed to mind that he was gone, not even the teachers.  
     The school day had past as a complete haze for the both of them. Over and over they the fight played in both their heads.  
     "Just what happed out there?" Nabiki thought aloud, once most of the crowd was past them.  
     "I don't know," Akane replied, equally soft.  
     "You're the girl that that drifter likes, right?" A new voice broke into their silence.  
     "What are you talking about?" Akane returned indignantly. Both girls looked up. Nabiki recognized him as the boy that had talked to Kunou yesterday. Suddenly more pieces of the puzzle seemed to snap together.  
     "That no-good low-life drifter boy. Saotome."  
     "How dare you insult Ranma like that! If he were here…" Akane began yelling out.  
     "If he knew I was here, he would probably kill me, just like he is planning on killing you!" Yuota's face flushed as he interrupted Akane. Both girls just blinked.  
     "He would never…"  
     "Both he and his father already killed my sister, and who knows how many other children."  
     "What!" Akane returned.  
     "You had something to do with the fight this morning, didn't you?" Nabiki stepped in.  
     "Maybe," he replied trying to meet Nabiki's stare, just not quite making it.  
     "What did you do to Ranma, and what do you mean he killed your sister?" Nabiki glanced at Akane to stop her from making her next comment. Akane closed her mouth, settling for just glaring death at the 'boy.' Ranma would never kill anyone!  
     "They moved into my neighborhood a few years back and started sacrificing children and animals." Nabiki didn't flinch. Akane wanted to do a lot more than just flinch. "We tried to stop them, but they ran away before they could finish on my sister."  
     "I thought you said they killed your sister?" Nabiki responded.  
     "We scared them off before they could bath in her blood, but they had already stolen her soul."  
     Nabiki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think you should start at the beginning."  
     "You don't believe him do you!" Akane accused.  
     'After today,' Nabiki thought. "Let's just say that I would prefer to hear all sides before I make a decision." Akane looked like she was about to say something, but didn't.  
     They made their way to a nearby park, letting him collect his thoughts before starting.  
     "After Hiromi…" He closed his eyes. "She was my baby sister." He now had Akane's full attention. "I am sorry, I just haven't talked about this in a long time."  
     "It's okay." Nabiki attempted to reassure him. Though she though Kasumi would do a better job.  
     Taking a deep breath, he began his tale.  


====================

_      "Come on guys," Yuota called as he grabbed his coat from the closet. "We need to go pay a visit to the local low-lifes."  
     "Hey, I ain't going near that place. You know he put all of Koji's gang in the hospital!" one of Yuota's friends responded.  
     "My sister has been missing all day! And I know that kid has been pestering her every since they got here," he responded with all the emotion he was feeling at that moment. "I am not looking for a fight, and I'll go alone if I have to."  
     Everyone else jumped up and started getting ready, including grabbing bats, lights, and just about anything else they could think of.  

_

     The house was dark and quiet when they arrived. Yuota called out, but no one answered. As they looked around, they could see signs that someone had been staying in what was left of the living room, but looked as if they had packed up and left. The house was old, and considering how expensive land is, it was surprising that such a place would remain unused except for the rift-raft that might blow through town.  
     "Hey, Yuota, I think I see her!"  
     "Where?" he came running toward the voice that called.  
     "She's in the back yard."  
     "It's freezing outside, what's she doing out there!"  
     "Hiromi!" Yuota called as he went out to her, but she didn't respond.  
     "Hey what's this?" another friend called out, but Yuota was focused on his sister.  
     He took off his jacket and flung it around her. She was just sitting there, staring into nothingness. All her clothes ripped to shreds. She felt cold to his touch.  
     "Man, help me. She's freezing. Somebody call for a doctor!"  
     "Yuota, I think this is blood!" someone called out as another pulled out his cell and started to make a call. Everyone cast their lights where he was and gasped. Something that was a deep red seemed to cover most of the ground.  
     "I think there's something down there!" another shouted. He was looking down what appeared to be a pit of some kind. There had been a covering of some kind, but it had been broken to bits. As they cast their lights down into the pit, they heard very soft meowing.  
     "Cats?"  


====================

     "They where torturing cats. Over thirty in all. Most had died from malnutrition and the cold before the animal shelter could get there. We thought the blood must have been cats blood, but the police said it was human blood."  
     Nabiki and Akane were stunned.   
     "Hiromi, had caught pneumonia. She lived for several weeks, but never got any better. You could see it in her eyes." He wiped his eyes and looked up at the darkening sky. "They had stolen her soul."  
     Nabiki looked at him. "You said a pit of cats?"  
     "Her final words were a plea to help save her and the cats from Ranma," he said solemnly.  
     "Come on, we have to go!" Nabiki said jumping up from the park bench.  
     "What where are we going?" He asked.  
     "Dr. Tofu's."  
     "Why there?"  
     "To get some answers!"  


====================

  
AN: Greetings...  
     This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.   
     It should go without saying, that I own none of the characters in this story with the possible exception of Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no intention of earning money from this story. This is only my way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and wounderful charcters.   
     Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.   
  
     This story is revealed in both the present time and in flash backs for the reader. Italics are used to set off the flash backs from present day actions. I hope this helps in the reading as some have complained about that. Also the ending has been altered. I hope everyone likes this one better. :)  
     Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  



	4. Of Cats and Men (Part 4)

Of Cats and Men (Part 4) 

By Kit 

====================

     "Don't worry, I'll be just fine," Saotome-san reassured Tofu-sensei one last time.  
     "You have my number, if anything should come up," he reminded him one more time.  
     Genma had been here since Ranma's unexpected Neko-ken incident. Ordinarily, if a patient warranted an overnight stay, he would have stayed in the spare room upstairs. Genma, however, was more than well enough to go home. True, he had complained about some pains until he had agreed to let him stay a few more days.  
     He didn't blame the man for being so hesitant to return home, but he didn't exactly feel sorry for him either. When he first examined Genma, he had tried to get them to take him to the general hospital, but that was the last thing the Tendou's wanted. When he was told Ranma had been the one that had done that, he had found it hard to believe. That was before he found out Ranma had been trained in the Neko-ken.  
     He frowned, as he gathered the last of his things.  
     Apparently Ranma had had a few more incidents during the past couple of weeks. Luckily, no one had been hurt during those times. He thought it likely that that had heightened Ranma's sensitivity. Saotome-san's confirmation that they had been able to avoided it for several years now did not make his prognosis any better.  
     If Akane weren't the only one who could stop him, he would have suggested moving Ranma out until his anxiety level came back down. Until then, the safest thing for his father was to stay far away from Ranma.  
     As he stepped outside to lock up, he thought a silent prayer to what ever kami that watched over the boy that Ranma wouldn't be lost to the Neko-ken.  
     Just as he turned around to head home, three teens came running up shouting to him. Akane and Nabiki he recognized.  


====================

     Genma looked around him, and saw a lot of angry stares. He wasn't sure what this was about, but he knew it wouldn't be any good. 'I knew I should have kept that glass of water handy.'  
     "We need you to tell us about Ranma's cat-fist training," Nabiki announced once everyone was settled, and Genma looked sufficiently unsettled.  
     "I already told you all about it. It was dumb not to finish reading the procedure, but it sounded so simple." Genma said with a sigh. 'This again.'  
     Nabiki smiled in such a way that Genma felt the color draining from his face.   
     "We want to hear the whole story this time."  
     Akane backed Nabiki's glare with one as hard as she could at Genma.  
     "This is Yuota." Genma only nodded his acknowledgement. 'What is it with Saotome's and names,' Nabiki thought. "Yuota Kimuwara of Kurai Naishin High School," she continued. He only nodded again. "Brother to Hiromi Kimuwara." Genma nodded once again.  
     Yuota stared to declare what a waste of time this was when the big man before him suddenly looked terrified of him. 'Well, maybe this wont be a waste after all,' he thought.  
     "How…" Genma felt his throat dry up. "How is your sister." His voice almost bounced up two octaves.  
     "She's dead." He spat with as much venom as he could muster. Tofu jumped when he said that. Genma began to look terribly burdened.  
     "I'm sorry to hear that," he almost lied. He was sorry to hear that. But thought for a minute, that she had come back to try to take Ranma. He was never sure exactly what Ranma's feelings for the girl were; he had been very young at the time. Considering how things where not going well to his perception between Akane and Ranma, she might have stood a good chance. He had hoped that since he acted similar to Akane as he had to him about that girl, there was some hope. But Ranma was hard headed and needed some pushing to see things the way they had to be.  
     "Yea, right. That's why you left her there to die." Tofu was intensely studying both Yuota's and Saotome-san's reactions.  
     "N-no, I- I tried to give her a blanket. I told her to go home." Genma sputtered though his shock. Lying, cheating, and stealing he could and had justified to his own conscious, but he would never abandon a child. 'Okay, there was that once, but I didn't really abandon her, her father was just a few blocks away, when she finally gave up the chase. Ranma had already been engaged to one of Tendou's daughters, so he couldn't really take her along anyway. Besides the road is no place for a woman, much less a girl.'  
     "What happened!" Akane demanded.  
     "Ranma had become weak." He said at least. His eyes focusing on events that he had truly regretted, even as he made the same mistakes over and over. Events, he never wanted to think about again. Even as they sometimes haunted him in his sleep, when Ranma would have a particularly restless night.  
     Everyone sat back and waited.  
     "Ever since we had moved into that neighborhood. We should have moved on immediately, but it was nice to have a roof over our head for the winter, even if the walls where drafty." He had also gotten a temporary job as a bouncer at a bar. He had wanted to bring Ranma in, to get some experience, but it had been a topless bar. And if his dear sweet wife ever found out…  
     "It was subtle at first. He seemed to be putting less than his full amount into his training. Each day, it almost seemed as if I had to start over."  
     "He had saved some other kid from some of the local bullies. He had dealt with them sufficiently. But later I heard from his teachers that he had run from a fight at school. He hadn't even attempted to put up a proper offense. That was inexcusable. That is when I decided it was time to start his advanced training."  
     "The Neko-ken or Cat-Fist," Akane supplied. Genma nodded his acknowledgement.  
     "What is this Neko-ken you keep talking about?" Yuota asked.  
     "An ancient and powerful form forgotten by most."  
     "With good reason," Akane added as Nabiki past Yuota a copy of Genma's training book.   
     Yuota turned pale as he read the description.  
     "Of course, he was a stubborn boy, and hadn't learned it the first time. But when he realized how important it was, he went back until he finally mastered it." Genma eyes, watery with tears, sparkled a little at the single bright spot in that whole ordeal. Genma himself had been ready to give up that last time, but Ranma couldn't stand the disappointment he saw in his father's eyes.  
     "Of course, by that point, the inherent weakness in that form became apparent," Genma explained.  
     Yuota looked confused so Akane mouthed 'fear of cats.'  
     "So, I embarked on a more dangerous path to try to help him overcome this fear."  
     "You kept doing the same thing," Nabiki added sarcastically.  
     "Yes, but this time, I would have to deal with the Cat-Fist each time he emerged."  
     "He acts like a cat when he's doing this?" Yuota asked.  
     "Actually, he thinks he is a cat only to forget everything that happened while he is a cat once he comes out of it."  
     "So, that's why he started showing up again, just before you left."  
     Everyone else in the room turned to look at Yuota.  
     "Yes, each time, I would have to go and hunt him down. He always ran to that same girl. Your sister I assume?" Genma asked, Yuota nodded.  
     "She thought he was trying to make up with her by acting like a cat, since he knew she liked cats that's what I thought," Yuota added. Akane started to feel angry with that for some reason.  
     "So, he must have trusted your sister very much," Nabiki commented, hoping to forestall Akane's rage.  
     "I take it, your sister didn't like fighting?" Dr. Tofu asked Yuota. Not seeing where this was going, he only nodded.  
     "So, after meeting your sister, Ranma started to hold back when fighting. At least until maybe he could adjust to their level. Still fighting, but only so much as he had to."  
     Yuota blinked as he put it that way.  
     Nabiki almost slipped at that postulate. "So your saying, Ranma tries to be a better person, all for someone he doesn't even remember?" Nabiki considered.  
     Akane couldn't decide weither to be moved by such a thing or to go ballistic. He certainly didn't care that much about her!  
     "That doesn't make since!" Yuota said shaking his head. "Then why did he leave her like that?"  
     Genma sighed. "You don't understand. It wasn't supposed to happen that way. There was nothing I could do."  


====================

_      'Genma,' he told himself, 'you have failed.' So many attempts to undo what he had done. In the beginning it sounded so simple. Then once things started, there was just no place to turn back.  
     He looked as his son curled up in the lap of that same girl as he had done each time before. She giggled as he started to purr. Once he fell asleep, it was safe for him to go up, acting happy to finally have found his son after searching for so long. She hadn't trusted him at first, but once he told her who he was, she didn't mind as much when he would come and pick the boy up. Besides, Ranma was a little heavy for her lap.  
     Ranma never could remember anything while held by the Neko-ken. Genma always made sure to bring him back before he could awake somewhere else. So concerned with making sure he didn't prematurely wake the boy up he didn't notice he was being followed.  
     "He's not playing kitty is he?" A soft quiet voice rang out of the night. Genma almost dropped his son in surprise. The small girl jumped off the crumbling fence-wall that blocked off the backyard. A feature that had helped convince Genma that this was the perfect place. Not everyone understood the dedication a true martial artist needed.  
     "He's fine. There's no need to worry about him."  
     "You didn't answer my question. What happened to him?"  
     "Sometimes a person must make great sacrifices. Ranma is going to be the greatest martial artist in the world," he replied proudly.  
     Ranma moaned.  
     "Ranma!" she called out, and he began to stir. Genma quickly set him down, not sure it this was a good or bad sign; usually he slept through the night.  
     "Hiromi?" Ranma asked through the haze of mid-awakeness. "What are you doing here?"  
     "I followed you. After your dad came to pick you up from my house." She pronounced 'your dad' like it was the worst curse imaginable. Which said a lot coming from a 10 year-old girl.  
     "I haven't been to your house." Ranma said, almost a question, as he looked to his father. At least he didn't remember going there. He hoped he would soon learn this Neko-ken stuff so his father wouldn't be so disappointed in him.  
     "Y-you don't remember?" She said softly.  
     Ranma looked at her wanting to remember. This was bad, if he was going places and not remembering.  
     "You have been coming over to my house for most of the past week acting like a cat," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I thought you were being silly trying something lame to make up with me. But you weren't acting where you." She had never wanted anyone to hurt in her entire life, but the monster that stood before her and dared to call itself Ranma's dad was pushing that temperament.  
     "I was acting like a c-c-ca-ca-..." Ranma said unable to finish the sentence. He looked over to his father for some explanation.  
     "Yes, son. You have mastered Nekoken. But…" he tried to explain. Ranma was instantly in his face.  
     "I already learned it?! And you still kept on throwing me in… into… that?" Ranma yelled, as he motioned toward the pit, a shiver went up and down his back. For a second, he forgot why he was yelling.  
     "You don't…." Genma started, only to be interrupted again.  
     "And what's the big idea teaching me some technique that I can't remember or use!"  
     Genma felt too guilty at this point to be upset that his son was back talking him. His words only matched those of his conscious these past few days anyway.  
     Ranma slowly advanced on his father. Thoughts of how disappointed his father had been, of continually being tied up and… Ranma began to shake as his anger and frustration boiled over. He couldn't believe his father would do that to him. He opened his mouth to continue the verbal beating when he heard it.   

_

     While Ranma berated his father, Hiromi looked over at the rotted wooden cellar door. Ranma had gestured to it. Said he had been tossed inside. She knew the dark was very scary, but she didn't think Ranma was that afraid of the dark. She walked up to the trap door, which was little more than an old panel. She lifted the latch and grabbed the door. It was heavy, very heavy. Especially for a ten-year-old girl who hadn't been training since she was four. Still, she managed to lift it up over her head. It was the darkest thing she had ever seen. She shivered at the thought of being locked up down there. A sound drifted up from its depths, but she couldn't make it out. She tried harder to see what was down there.  
     A few hisses and an urgent meowing began to emanate from the pit. After all, the opening of the door always signaled food.  
     "Kitties?" She said softly.  


     Genma knew true horror as he watched his son, unable to look away.  
     First Ranma looked frantically around, not really seeing anything. Genma could almost feel the fear evident on Ranma's face.  
     Ranma was surrounded by cats. He knew that. He couldn't see them, but he couldn't see them in the darkness of the pit either. He began making panicked little motions, as he tried to get free of cat treats binding him. It didn't matter that he wasn't tied up this time. He began whimpering as hundreds of non-existent claws began to tear away the non-existent food. Ranma wanted to scream, but that never helped.  
     Genma stood up. He wanted to run over and hug his son, to apologize for everything. Tears began to run down his face.  
     At the movement in front of him, Ranma's unseeing eyes locked on his father's. Frozen, Genma was treated to a sight that tore at his soul. A sight he would forget save during his worst nightmares. Those same dreams he would forever have whenever Ranma would wake him up in the middle of the night with his screaming. He watched as all the humanity in his son drain out of those eyes. As the broken trust held within those eyes was transformed into a pure animalistic hatred.  
     "Merroooow," Neko-Ranma warned.  
     Remembering Hiromi, Genma started to rush toward her. He had to get her away from the pit.  
     Sensing his movement as a danger, Neko-Ranma launched at Genma with everything he had.   
     Hiromi dropped the cover and screamed as Ranma batted at Genma. He flew several feet back. Neko-Ranma readied to pounce on him, to finish. Along Genma's side and front several trails of blood appeared.  
     Owning cats, and seeing Ranma position himself, she knew what he was about to do. Whatever she thought of his father, she couldn't let him hurt the man more than he was. Grabbing a rock off the ground, she threw it to try to distract him.   
     Neko-Ranma felt the strike on his side. Turning he hissed, ready to strike whatever dared to strike him.  
     Hiromi froze with fear. The wild dark fire danced in his eyes.  
     Ranma stopped. Not a hesitation, but a full stop. Genma recognized this immediate change as Ranma's body suddenly absorbed its full momentum. Even in the Neko-ken, he would not strike her. 'She even attacked him first,' Genma realized. 'The Nekoken, truly is a failure.'  
     Hiromi, however, was not a marital artist. Thus, in that delicate half of a second, didn't understand that Ranma wasn't going to hurt her. Fear blossomed in her and attempted to make her run for her life. Her body wasn't quite ready to listen yet. She took a half step backwards and hit the protruding edge of the pit. She waved her hands wildly at an uncoordinated attempt to reclaim her balance. Before her, Genma paled and Ranma tilted his head to the side. She fell back onto the wooden cover hard. Before she could blink, the rotted wood gave way and she plunged straight into darkness.  
     In the pit, the cats were ready and hungry. They moved against the falling form before she even hit the ground. Claws barred as they fought to get at their food. Food that seemed to be missing this time.  
     Neko-Ranma busted through the door, enlarging the hole.  
     An eternity, to Genma, passed before Ranma emerged from the pit. He held her in his mouth by the back of her jacket. Her clothes were shredded and both had several new cuts.  
     She began to quiver lightly. The sun was setting and her clothes could no longer provide any protection from the winter night. Genma picked up a blanked and moved to bring it to them. Neko-Ranma began to hiss until he backed off. He folded it up and lightly tossed it by them. Hiromi paused from petting her friend for a moment and stared uncomprehendingly at the object that he tossed. Neko-Ranma began to nuzzle her until she returned to her hands to their previous duties.   
     Genma took a deep breath. He was concerned, but there was little he could do at the moment. Returning to his pack, he saw to his wounds. A second blanket became his dressing. He had to rest for a bit due to the loss of blood, but he held on. Gently gathering their supplies, he began to repack their gear.  
     All through this, both of them watched his every movement. Hiromi continued to softly pet her friend. After a while she began cooing in his ear. Promises that she would help him and keep him away from the bad kitties.  
     By the time Genma finished packing, both of the children were asleep.  
     Carefully, Genma lifted his son out of her lap. They needed to get away from this town before anyone else got evolved. He felt clumsy with both packs on his back and Ranma cradled in his arms. Looking down at his son, Genma was struck by the thought of how long it had been since he had needed to carry his son.  
     "Stop! You can't take him!" Hiromi suddenly called. She tried to get up, but her legs were numb from Ranma laying on them all evening.  
     "He is my son. I can take him anywhere I deem necessary." Genma lectured. "You should go back to your home. Your parents must be worried for you." Genma leaped over the wall with Ranma in his arms and both packs on his back. Briefly, Genma thought of calling her parents, but not only didn't he have a phone, but didn't know their number, and he certainly wasn't going to take the risk of waking Ranma up to ask.  


====================

     "I thought you said it was an old woman who lived nearby, that brought Ranma out of Neko-ken?" Akane demanded. She was burning up that someone else could bring him out, although she didn't know why she was upset.  
     "That is right. In the next town, we went to. That's where we meet her," Genma answered while pulling his gi top back on. He had removed it show them the scars he had received that night. "The Neko-ken training was still fresh. Anything could set it off: seeing a cat, hearing a cat, sometimes I think all he had to do was think of a cat and he would slip into the Neko-ken," Genma recounted. "The old woman was nice enough, but sometimes, I think she actually thought Ranma was a cat," Genma derided. The tears from his long tail drying up. His mind already banishing those memories back to the dark places of his mind where he kept all such memories labeled not to be remembered. Were most of his memories of training under the master were locked away.  
     "He really did like her," Yuota finally admitted, very softly.  
     Akane turned to glare at Yuota, but found she couldn't. The story was too heart-wrenching.  
     "Where did he take off to, anyway?" Nabiki looked at Akane.  
     "He was so wound up this morning, I told him he should go home and take a soak in the furo." Akane smiled. "I suggested he try some of that bath oil that Kasumi bought to help relax."  
     Yuota looked up in alarm. "You said what?" All the color drained from his face.  
     Akane looked confused. "What's wrong with relaxing in the furo?" Nabiki asked.  
     "My family makes bath oils. T-that was a special family formula that only the women of our clan used."  
     "Including Hiromi," Akane wondered aloud, her eyes growing big.  
     Everyone jumped up, except for Tofu-sensei and Saotome-san, and took off running out the door.  
     Nabiki cursed herself for not having noticed it sooner. Ranma had started acting strange the day Kasumi brought that stuff home. Scents, she had read once in her high school psychology textbook, were one of the most powerful of the senses for memory recognition.   


====================

     "It's this way." Yuota shouted, at a dead run. He had never ran so hard in his life. Nabiki was just barely keeping up. Akane hadn't even broken stride yet, but she was fretting the entire way. She knew she could get there faster. If only she just knew where there was.  
     They had arrived at the Tendou family home fairly quickly, only to find they hadn't been quick enough. From Kasumi, they learned he had been soaking in the furo until just moments ago, when he ran out the door looking like he had seen a ghost.  
     Nabiki introduced one ghost, the kind boy who had insisted she try the bath oil, Yuota. They didn't have time to explain, but had no idea where Ranma may have run off. Nabiki was about to start making calls when Yuota turned a very pasty white and announced he might know where to look.  
     Both Akane and Nabiki felt a lump in their throat. Each remembered how they had treated Ranma when they learned of his 'cute' little fear of cats.  
     Hearing about the Neko-ken training and how this had lead to Ranma's fear hadn't made it feel real to them. I mean, no body could really do that to their child, could they.  
     Even seeing the full power of the Neko-ken released, both by Gos and Shampoo, hadn't brought it home to them. I mean, that pervert kissed Akane in front of everyone, right. He had to know what he was doing and was just trying to take advantage of it. That he didn't seem to remember had hurt, but Akane wasn't thinking about that at this moment.  
     What both sisters were thinking about was what unquestioned answers lay ahead of them. Now they were going back to where it had all started. They both shivered. They were going to see once and for all the truth.  
     Neither girl was sure they wanted to see it. But neither girl could turn away either. Both felt a gnawing in their stomachs. The growing reality of just how harsh the world could be. And it had only been a few blocks from their home.  


====================

     "It's-just-a-stupid-dream, it's-only-a-stupid-dream," Ranma chanted to himself. He knew it was a dream. It had to be a dream. Why? Because before him stood a place that only existed in some of his nightmares. A place he only knew as 'The House.'  
     _ "Giru had to go to the hospital last night," _ the voice of a young girl echoed out of the dark.  
     "Who are you!" Ranma shouted out.  
     _ "You did it, didn't you?" _ she shouted out accusingly.  
     Slowly, Ranma walked up the steps. There was a condemned notice on one of the banisters saying something about knocking down the house next week. The subtle detail of his imagination only served to unnerve him further.  
     The door was stuck, but that was nothing for the martial artist. A quick palm strike above the door knob and the frame gave way for admittance. Once inside, Ranma saw the young girl. She was still dressed in the brown uniform of her school. Something about that tickled at the tip of his brain.  
     _ "Silly, its me!" _ she laughed.  
     "H-Hiromi?" Ranma called out, uncertainly. She seemed to smile at him. Somehow, it seemed to remind him of Akane. "You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place," Ranma scowled the little girl.  
     _ "Duh, I go to school here. Are you transferring here?" _ The girl giggled out.  
     Ranma looked around. The room was completely devoid of furniture. He could see by the streetlights long tears along the walls. It looked like some caged animal had been let loose in here. "'Course me and the old man been in lots worse places than this," he told himself uncertainly. Silently Ranma hoped that no one had been here when whatever it was had been released.  
     _ "No body deserved that," _ he felt more than heard the disappointment in her voice.  
     _ "People like that never learn. You have to show 'em," _ someone shouted from the back.  
     _ "Anyone can change, if given the chance." _ Hiromi turned to shout through a window in the back. "And everyone deserves the chance." She took off running right through the wall.  
     He made his way toward the back, but the girl was no where to be seen. He found the back door, and after another palm strike, found himself in the back yard.  
     'Got dark quick," he thought as he looked around. He felt the need to remind himself again it was just a dream. His sense of deja-vu and fear began to take a stronger hold. He began his chant again, "It's-only-a-dream."  
     _ "Hey, you! Homeless Boy!" _ Came a shout from nowhere. Ranma dropped into a full combat stance, but he couldn't pinpoint the direction the danger was coming from.  
     _ "You have been bothering Hiromi. I want you to leave her alone!" _ The voice called out again.  
     "I thought she needed help," Ranma called out. He was ready for the attack from any direction.  
     _ "I know your kind, and you're all no good." _  
     He completely froze, when he saw the rusty metal slab. It was covering something his mind refused to tell him.  
     _ "Would you like to see my cat?" _ The little girl cooed, now sitting on top of the cover.  
     "W-wh-what is that?" Ranma almost whimpered. He completely lost his fighting stance.  
     _ "Just what do you think you're doing!" _ he heard his father shout. Every nerve in Ranma's body went off in alarm. _ "A martial artist life is fraught with peril. Were you not ready to give your life?"_  
     The cover may have been heavy, but it was nothing after the training Ranma had received during his life. He lifted the cover easily over his head.  
     There before him sat the darkest dark, the blackest black, and the deepest hole in the universe. Any and all rational thought he may have held onto up to this point left him. He could not stop staring into the abyss even as he felt it gaze seep into his soul him. Nothing existed, not even sound. Then a noise touched upon his soul. It came from within the house, but he wasn't paying that much attention.  
     "Kittens?" he answered meekly.  
     "Ranma!" Akane shouted from the doorway. They had finally made their way through the house. He partially turned unseeing eyes in her direction. There was such great pain and fear etched on his face. None of them could ever have imagined such a sight on anyone, especially Ranma Saotome.  
     _ "I know where that is," _ came the innocent voice up from the pit. _ "Follow me."_  
     His grip wavered.  
     Akane took a step forward.  
     He started to fall backwards into the pit.  
     "Nooo!" Akane shouted. The heavy metal slab slammed down with a finality. The clang echoed off of everything was the only answer to her plea.  
     "Ancestors, he was able to lift that thing!" Yuota exclaimed. To him, everything was taking a surreal turn in his mind. He hadn't wanted to believe Genma's story. Now he began to feel that perhaps he had judged Ranma prematurely. His wish to see Ranma experience his sisters final moments had been granted. How had he become the greater evil in this story. This was not the way things were supposed to happen.  
     Akane tried vainly to lift the slab. The latch held, stuck from the force that had slammed it shut. Silence beat against their emotions. Taking a deep breath, Akane lifted her hand. Forming a fist, she slammed it down hard against the flat surface. Again she punched. Any pain she felt was washed away by her tears.   
     "Stop, Akane!" Nabiki tried to hug her sister. "We've got to go get help!"  
     Akane pulled away from her older sister and began raining punches against the cold metal. Visions of so many broken bricks flashed through her head. She knew this was different. But she had to break through this, because this was different.  
     All Nabiki could do was sit back, watching and praying. Kami-sama only knew what was going on in Ranma's head right now.  
     Both her hands were bleeding from the unrelenting abuse, but she could not stop. She almost burst out with insane laughter when it first began to give. Bowing inward, then bending. Large dents became deep impressions.   
     Quickly, although it was an eternity for those present, she broke though the aging and rusted slab that had covered the pit for the past six years. She grabbed at the sharp edges of the hole and pulled. Bloody tears formed along the stress fractures as she forced a whole big enough to jump through.  
     "How do you know he will know its you!" Nabiki called out.  
     "Ranma!" Akane shouted down into the abyss. She took one last quick look at Nabiki, who was as pale as a sheet. With one last forced smile she said, "I know he will."  
     She jumped.  


====================

     A cool wind blew across the open field. The sky was a beautifully clear baby-blue. Four dark figures stood near each other but alone to their thoughts.  
     One male, dressed warmly in long pants and a heavy sweater, asked for forgiveness from his baby sister. He had finally glimpsed the truth that she had understood so well.  
     A female, wearing slacks and a dress jacket over a dark blouse, watched from the side seemingly unmoved. She had decided to re-evaluate her opinion of a certain boy, but for now she would be content to just watch.  
     A second female stood in a long dress and sweater. She brushed her short hair back with her free hand. It was still sensitive, as the bandages had only come off that morning. She didn't remember when they started holding hands, nor who started it. She didn't feel like saying anything about it at the moment either. Before her was a cold inanimate stone, a marker. Someone she had never met. Someone who had made a mark in her iinazuke's life then vanished. She didn't know if she should be jealous or thank her. They still had a lot to work out. They still had trouble talking to each other. 'But maybe, just maybe, if things calmed down…'  
     The last figure, currently male was dressed in a set of green clothes very reminiscent of a Chinese uniform complete with green cap. He stood before the marker on the ground not even noticing his iinazuke's hand in his own. His emotions and thoughts were hidden from view, until one looked into his troubled eyes. He didn't remember this person. Yet felt her loss deeply. He wasn't really sure of all that had happened those years ago or those few days past. No one had spoken much about it, yet. Each instead thinking deeply about what they experienced.  
     As they began to leave, words came to him from somewhere. He couldn't help but to whisper them: "Everyone deserves a chance." He looked up into her eyes and smiled.  


====================

  
AN: Greetings...  
     This story is set somewhere shortly before Happosai's arrival. Although, I may alude to later plot themes.   
     It should go without saying, that I own none of the characters in this story with the possible exception of Hiromi, Yuota, and Koji. And should bear no resemblance to any real person alive or otherwise. (If so, you may need help.) As such, please please don't sue me. I have no intention of earning money from this story. This is only my way of paying homage to a great story filled with fun and wounderful charcters.   
     Thank you Rumiko Takahashi-san.   
  
     This story is revealed in both the present time and in flash backs for the reader. Italics are used to set off the flash backs from present day actions. I hope this helps in the reading as some have complained about that. Also the ending has been altered. I hope everyone likes this one better. :)  
     Anyway, I hope you enjoy!  



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